The light after the tunnel
by poisongirlt
Summary: Danny and Flack relationship will never be the same after one of them decide to go on with his life. Slash.
1. Chapter 1

**I wish the characters were mine, CBS and CSI franchise creator are the owners. I think own the gossipers, but if you want them, they're all for you.**

-Have you heard about the last gossip in the precinct?

Voices were coming from outside the locker room, where Danny was trying to ease a heavy headache he had since that morning. It was 5 pm, a long shift; he was called to a crime scene at 7 am. No doubt the headache was largely due to the lack of sleep.

-They say he's getting serious; he's going to leave his life as a playboy. Rosie even told me he actually left his work undone because he had a date with her.

Danny started to get interested in this gossip. The voices seemed to linger by the door of the locket room. The lights were off and it was completely silent inside; they must have thought no one was inside. Those two were very dangerous, always talking about everybody. He still remembered the day they came in the same bar he did and he had to leave the man he had been about to screw in the bathroom… No, those two really were a danger if someone was trying to keep secrets. He felt sorry for the poor soul that was their new target.

-Do you know who she is?

Life for a man like Danny was pretty difficult as it was, he don't need everybody around him knowing he liked the same gender. He'd known he was gay for a long time; it was the real reason why he didn't join Tanglewood. One day he was with Sonny and Louie, and he saw how they badly beat a man just because they thought he had kissed another man. Later they just realized it was a really ugly woman, but the damage was done.

"No faggot should live in the same city I do," said Sonny then, and Danny just felt he needed to get as far away as possible from all the Tangelwood boys, Louie included.

-I have no idea, and nobody has seen her, but to get a man like him, she must be really gorgeous. I mean, have you really taken a look at him? My God, he's absolutely first class material.

Danny actually laughed at this remark. They said the same thing about him last week when they caught him sleeping on his desk. Paperwork can be very boring, plus the extra time he had been working, meant a very tired Danny. They assumed he had been awake all night by some nympho girl. As if, the closest he had been to getting laid all year was the time the same gossips saw him in that bar.

He went back to that memory, he liked that man. He was a dark-haired and blue-eyed New Yorker, but something was wrong with him: his hands weren't as soft as they should have been, his voice wasn't as strong, his eyes didn't look at him with a promise of protection and friendship. Those weren't the eyes he really needed to look at him with a different promise, a promise of love and devotion.

-Yeah, I know what you mean. He has a perfect body, and he's smart, too. And… someone even told me he has money, a lot of money. Something about an uncle dying and some properties.

He kept listening to the words the women were saying while he thought. That's the reason for his headache, his long, restless nights, his long nights looking for a solution in a male form. He needs him, he knows it, but there are a lot of things that makes him stop. He can't really do what he wants and needs, he can't lose his friendship and expose him to the kind of shit he's been hiding all those years. NYPD isn't the best place to have an affair with a team mate, especially if he's the same gender as you. Much less if you want to have a same gender relationship with the son of Don Flack, permanent legend in all the precincts in New York, and some in Jersey. They'd never talked about it; he hadn't even told Flack he's gay. He's waiting for a moment, for the right moment. He's been waiting for the right moment for almost six years.

-I understand the uncle making him his favorite, and who wouldn't? He's perfect!

He'd never seen any kind of signal from the homicide detective. Apart from all the looks Flack's been giving him, but those are work related, Flack's job is to make sure Danny doesn't have any problems at the crime scenes. The ones he gave him outside were more for inertia. It's impossible for someone like Flack to be interested in a guy like him; he's lucky Flack even took the time to drink beers and play hoops with him, even if lately he's been busier and couldn't go anywhere with him. Danny should talk to him to see if something was wrong.

-Yeah, I gotta tell you, he's lucky he's taken, if he wasn't he should have to deal with me and my seduction weapons.

Danny remembered her seduction weapons, he even remembered the slap in his face after he asked her if her blouse was wet since he could see her nipples through the fabric. He listened as the footsteps began again; they were starting to move away from him. He found his aspirin and put two in his palm before putting the bottle inside his locker again. In a fast movement, he popped them in his mouth and drank from the water bottle he had beside him. He hoped he got better by the time he got to the metro. All that noise and the metro itself were hard even when he was well, with a headache, the subway was sure to be unbearable.

-Yeah, but as Roxie said, he's pretty whipped. He's a workaholic and left without finishing paperwork. Sorry honey, but Detective Flack is off the market now.

Danny felt like the locker room's walls are closing in around him. Knowing he was out of his league was difficult; losing every little piece of hope was like feeling his soul being ripped with a very sharp bistoury.

**That's all by now. Feel free to tell me what you think about it.**


	2. Chapter 2

Another case closed, another crime solved. Another day passed without a solution to his problem. Another day without the chance to talk to the homicide detective he needed so much. Knowing Flack had somebody in his life was painful, but Flack's avoidance of Danny hurt much worse. No cases together, no more hoops games, no phone calls… His life was absolutely Flack-less.

Danny looked through the lab, searching for a friendly face. All he could find were people passing by without even realizing he was there. Tired, he decided to go out, simply breathe that New York air he needed so much. Maybe it wasn't that clean, maybe it wasn't as healthy as the air in the country, but for him, New York pollution was better than .

Outside the building it was a cold night, he hadn't even realized it was this late until he left the office. He shouldn't do this again. Being there doesn't mean Flack's going to appear, make amends and bring back his smile. If Flack didn't need to be around him to breathe, sooner or later Danny won't need it either. Better to make it soon, because the homicide detective seemed to have made up a nice life without him.

"Don't go back there, you'll only hurt yourself more," Danny said aloud, while he hugged himself to warm up. The cold was starting to seep into his bones, so he finally decided to make a turn and go straight to Sullivan's. A couple of beers would make him forget the cold.

As he entered the bar, he took a look around, but didn't seem to know anybody nearby. He finally decided to ask for a double whiskey and take a booth. The bar was not too crowded, and he found a booth where he could sit alone in the dark. Not even five minutes passed when he heard a familiar voice.

"Long time no see." Danny looked up in time to see Flack sit in the chair opposite him. A lot of thoughts ran through his mind, but only one stayed. _Why is it the only time I want to be away from him is the one time I see him in three fucking months?_

"That's what happens when you ignore your friends, you end up losing touch" answered Danny angrily. Don's pained blue eyes looked at him from the other side of the table.

"I wasn't ignoring you, c'mon Danny, I've been just… very busy"

"You were busy? That's your lame excuse? You were too busy to gimme me a call before I waited for you for an hour at the basket court? You were too busy to come by the lab to ask for those results?" A moment of silence fell between them, as two pairs of blue eyes collided, until a soft voice asked, "You too busy to tell your best friend you're with someone?"

Flack looked down to the table, while he got a hold of his beer and raised it to his mouth. "You know."

"Yes, Flack, I know my best friend has a girlfrien' because some women were talking about it, not because my so-called friend decided to make me a call, or take me to have some drinks before telling me himself."

When Danny started to talk, he was visibly angry with Flack, until the pain reflected in his eyes made the detective feel guilty enough to look down.

"I didn't want you to find out that way, I wanted to be the one to tell you. I was… waiting for the right moment, when I knew for sure that it was for real, enough for us to know we were serious…"

"And how long have you been with her, if you didn't know yet?"

"Four months," answered Flack in a very low voice.

"Four months. You've been going out with her for _four_ months?" Danny's voice was rising, as was his anger. "What the hell were you waiting for? Your engagement, or your first child?" he sneered.

"It's not like that, Danny. You wouldn't understand."

"Of course I wouldn't understand it if I don't know anything, Don. We're not talking about some chick you meet at a bar and spent a night of wild sex. We're talking about you being in a serious relationship, with dinners, candle light, flowers and candy for four months, time I spent trying to understand why you didn't want to hang out like we've always done, asking myself what the hell could I was doing wrong for you to ignore me that way." Danny's eyes are red, trying not to cry in front of the man he though was his friend. His voice was ragged, with the weight that burdened his heart. "We are talking here about a choice you made, if not four, maybe three months ago. You decided to take me out of your life, to replace my friendship for a relationship with some girl. I think, at the very least, you could've given me some kind of warning."

"What do ya want me to warn you about Danny? The possibility that I could find some girl that maybe can make me happy? That I could want to get to know her before I say out loud that I've met her?"

"You should have warned me that you decided to choose her over our friendship."

Danny felt his heart was going to break the second his eyes caught Flack's. He got his whiskey and drank the whole glass in one swallow. He put on his leather jacket and exited the bar without looking back at Flack. He couldn't let Flack see him this way. He couldn't let Flack see he was crying.

**That's all by now. Feedback will be really apreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything.**

From the end of the street Flack could see the light in his window. Since it had been a very hard day, he didn't think he could do anything else that night. Things were getting more difficult every second... And he thought he was just getting the easy way.

When he first met her, he just thought she was a cute girl. She was funny, one of those people who make you feel comfortable with yourself. He remembered that day very clearly. He just played some hoops with Danny. He was going to his apartment when he saw a man run in front of a woman who just stopped a cab. Getting a cab in that area of New York was more difficult than finding a rich girl who wasn't spoiled. But what really caught Flack interest was the fact that the woman was smiling and laughing instead of yelling at the man who just stole her cab.

He couldn't let that woman be left alone. It was getting dark and she shouldn't really be alone in those streets. After presenting himself (and excusing his sweatiness as a result of the recent workout), he offered his services as a bodyguard, in exchange for her laughter. Twenty minutes later, they reached her destination, and she decided one stupid reason wasn't enough to thank the detective that saved her from a lonely walk. She offered him coffee for another day. After that, one coffee turned to another, two coffees turned to a dinner and that dinner was the beginning of his longest relationship. And Flack didn't even realize he was in it until it was more than a month later and they had started to make plans.

After that, how could he be with Danny again? How could he tell him he couldn't spend too much time with him because he had to see his girlfriend? How could he work on the same case knowing the CSI would ask him for drinks after they solved the crime? And he really couldn't do that. Not anymore.

Flack stopped walking, looked up to his window, and sighed. This wasn't what he had in mind when he decided to look for Danny that morning. He wanted to see his best friend, to spend some time alone with the CSI, to show himself he could keep his friendship even if he wasn't exactly single anymore. But things really turned upside down for him in mere seconds. He hadn't told anybody about her, not even Stella, not even when he had to leave a case because she almost got hit by a car. But he knew now. The damage was done and there wasn't anything he could do to ease the pain in Danny's eyes after he confirmed it.

The worst part was he knew Danny was right; he had to choose between Danny and her…and he chose her. What was he supposed to do? Shouldn't he decide to spend his days with someone he could learn to love? Wasn't he supposed to be with someone who could make him laugh after a long day watching dead people in dark alleys?

Flack climbed the stairs to his floor. The last ten steps before his door were like a sea he had to swim to get to the shore. He crossed the hall and stood for a few seconds in front of his door. His apartment door opened before he got the key out of his pocket. Two very bright green eyes welcome him.

"Hi, I saw you in the street a few minutes ago. I was going out to look for you. Are you ok?"

Flack sighed as he walked through the entryway and sat on his couch. "Yeah, just... I had a very bad day, Lara. I just want to lie down and hope tomorrow goes a little better."

Lara sat beside Flack on the couch. Her black hair fell to her side when she put her head on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Flack moved his arm back to rest it on her shoulder while he kissed her forehead. "Nah. I just want to forget it." Then he left the couch and took off his coat and jacket. "I need to sleep. Tomorrow I have an early shift."

Lara stood beside Flack and gently kissed him on the lips. "I came because I needed to see you. I have to work early too. Dinner tomorrow night?" She got her coat and went to his door with him.

"Yeah. See ya at Dino's," Flack said with a smile just before he bent down to kiss her.

"See you tomorrow night. I love you." She closed the door quietly behind her.

Flack locked the door and turned. From the entry, he looked at the same window he had observed from the street. For a man with a very beautiful and loving girlfriend, Flack didn't really feel that fortunate. He just felt as if an invisible hand had squeezed his heart until there wasn't a drop of blood left in it.

**That's all by now. Feedback is really appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

Even after all those long shifts, the exercise he had done, the relaxing tea, and the soft music he played on his iPod, Danny was unable to fall asleep.

It had been more than two weeks since his 'accidental meeting' with Flack. He still was unable to get over it. It was painful for him, Flack had confirmed he would rather spend his time with a chick than with Danny, his so-called best friend. But worse than the fact that Flack was not interested in him romantically, was that Flack had decided to keep his relationship a secret from Danny. He thought they were friends, he thought they could say everything one to another, but it looked like their friendship wasn't like that.

Danny got up from his bed and got dressed. It wasn't too late yet, and tomorrow he has a day off. Maybe a couple of beers could make him fell asleep; maybe a couple of beers could make him forget about the blue eyes that lied him without compunction.

The bar was almost full when he arrived. Tonight wasn't a night for Sullivan's or another cop bar. He chose a small, dark bar in an area he thought nobody he knew would go. He really didn't need anybody gossiping in the crime-lab about how he got wasted over the love of another detective. After a couple of seconds spent looking for a place to sit, he decided to sit on a stool by the counter. That way the alcohol would flow faster. He ordered his first beer, and while he drank it, he spun the stool to take a look at the bar.

The place wasn't really big or neat. The floor was littered with cigarette butts and other things he didn't really want to know about. There were people playing pool in the corner, while two other men were making out under the dartboard lights. Great, he was in a gay bar and he didn't realize until now. He could have dressed up a little more, or put his contact lenses instead of his glasses.

Why bother, though? Nobody would be interested in him, and he didn't think he had the strength to get rejected again. Flack was a big nail in his heart, he couldn't even think about getting over him using anybody. It wouldn't be fair, not for him nor for the other person. He had to get over Flack before thinking about getting another love interest.

He asked the bartender for another beer and when he was about to pay, another hand passed a bill from behind him to pay for his drink. Danny pivoted on his seat to see who was behind him and was surprised to see a very handsome man, about his age, greet him with a sincere smile.

"Hi. I was in the other side of the bar and couldn't resist the urge to see those beautiful eyes closer." The man was really going for it, very direct. Danny smiled for the first time in...he didn't really remember when the last time he smiled was. Yeah, it was when Flack came to the lab... No more Flack. Not tonight.

"Hi. I'm Danny," he said while he offered his hand to the man in front of him.

"Hi, Danny. I'm David. I've never saw you here before, and trust me, I'd definitely remember someone like you."

Danny smiled again. He was starting to feel comfortable with this man.

"Actually, this is the first time I've been here. I was trying to get away from the places I'm used to go. I needed something new."

"In that case, I'm glad you ended up in this place – even if your 'new' thing is the oldest bar in the area. Those walls have seen at least 4 presidents in the White House" David pointed Danny to the wall near the bathrooms, where the paint was cracked and chipped in some places. "So, what brings you here?" asked David while he sat on the stool next to Danny. "A break-up, a stand-up?"

"Why I would be here for those reasons? I couldn't just need some fresh air?" replied Danny, while David took a drink from his own beer and raised an eyebrow.

"You look as if you haven't slept for a couple of weeks. Also, there is that sad look I noticed even from the other side of the room" said David while looked at Danny's eyes.

Danny sighed and took a drink from his beer. "It's a long story." The sadness in Danny's voice was obvious. He had one good minute. Now let's go for the next 59 bad.

"Danny, it's Tuesday, near midnight and we are in a bar. That means two things: A, we're wasted, which I don't think either of us are. Or B, We don't have to work tomorrow. If we don't have to work tomorrow, the option I choose, that means that we both don't have anything better to do than sit in a hole-in-the-wall bar, to chat about what make you feel so bad."

Danny looked down.

"Don't be shy, I'm just offering a shoulder to cry on if you need it, because I think you need to take out all the shit you are trying to hide."

Danny almost felt like crying for a second. How could someone he didn't know understand him so easily? He ended up talking about everything. How his co-workers and friends ignored the fact that he was gay, how he thought he could have a nice friendship with a female co-worker and ended up having a stalker (those Montana country girls could be very frightening), and the most important of all the things he hid: how his life turned upside down the moment he fell in love with his best friend, and the betrayal he felt when Don decided to forget him to be with his girlfriend. David was a very good listener. He let Danny speak and say all he had to take out until the end, and then offered himself as a new friend for all Danny could need.

Danny discovered he was better after all that chat. The bar was closing, it was almost 3 A.M., but he didn't want to say goodbye yet, so he offered David a walk to another place that was still open. The pair ended up in a 24 hour diner, where they asked for coffee after coffee. Danny wanted to know more about David, so they spent all night talking and getting to know each other.

David was a cook. He worked in one of the best restaurants in the city. He'd lived in New York all his life and they both shared their love of sports and Italian food. What started as a really bad night turned out to be one of the best in Danny's whole life.

Dawn was coming when they both parted with the promise of a phone call after sleep. Danny was really excited with the possibility of a new encounter with David. The other man was really interesting, and Danny was dying to try out his food.

The way to his house was shorter than the walk to the bar, and as soon as he was in bed, a peaceful sleep overtook Danny. For the first time in a long time, he had no dreams of the blue eyes that usually tormented him.

**That's the end of this chapter. Feedback is really appreciated. ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Do not own anyhing, just the story line.**

It had been almost three weeks since the last time he saw him. Three weeks since that encounter in a bar. He tried to avoid him, to elude the places where he could be, and he made it. He traded shifts and cases with other detectives as soon as he knew some dirty blonde CSI could be in the same room than him. He was acting like a coward, and he knew it, maybe he could face him in a few days, or weeks.

Flack stopped reading the files he was trying to correct. His eyes were starting to hurt, he wasn't made for desk work. He got a hold of his coffee, second one this morning. He wasn't sleeping very well, and some people started making some questions about it. Some co-workers said he needed a few days off. Lara said he needed to relax. He knew he needed to amend things with Danny. He was his best friend, emphasis in _was_, cause he hadn't had a conversation with him in a long time.

Suddenly his thoughts are interrupted by his cell. A new case, and the CSI assigned to the case was Danny. Automatically, he looked around; he must find Angell to trade cases. She was filling some reports; she'd love to take a new case. He stands up to talk to her and then changes his mind. He really needs to finish this situation, he need to talk with Danny.

The street was full of police cars and people near the tape trying to take a look at the macabre scene in the middle of the roadway. Damn lookers, he wouldn't be here if this wasn't his job. It's unbelievable how people like to see suffering and angst coming from other people, but try the hardest to elude it in them.

Passing the yellow tape and the line of officers surrounding the scene, Danny found a kid, no more than 12 years old, spread in the flood beside him. A hit and run, this is just great. "What do we have here?" asked him to the person behind him. Dispatch said the assigned detective was Flack, so he stood up and turned waiting to se Angell, just like the last three weeks. His face must have been priceless the moment he saw there Flack.

"Still John Doe. Witnesses say he was hit by a yellow cab while crossing the street. They also say the car was making weird moves before it hit the kid. Maybe it was a drunk driver." Flack answered with a complete professional manner. Danny mimicked his demeanour and started processing the scene. Danny notices a fixed stare in his back as he bended to take a closer look to the body. Then heard Flack turned again to ask more people about the accident.

When he finished taking photos of the tires marks in the road and the body was took by the coroner, Danny collected all the evidence he had and closed his case. He started walking to his car when Flack stopped him stepping in front of him.

"What are you doing?" asked Flack. Danny blinked a few times.

"Excuse me? What am I doing? I finished with this scene and now I'm going to the lab."

"You were going to leave without even saying goodbye?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"If you don't say hello I don't know why am I supposed to say goodbye." With that Danny left for his car, leaving behind a very puzzled Flack.

This case was starting to be very frustrating. All the evidence pointed things he was aware before. All his evidence pointed the hit and run was done by a yellow cab with standard painting, standard tires and some non standard turns before hitting the kid.

Poor kid lying in the autopsy table was still unidentified. He died immediately; he didn't even realize anything until it was too late. Poor kid was too young to be there. He took the autopsy report and left for his office, there he'd collect everything he had from this kid to see if he can get and ID.

When he went into the little room, he found Flack there, standing beside the door, waiting for him, like in the old times. Danny felt a little pain in his chest, a pain imbedded in his mending heart.

"Hello" said Flack, looking afraid to say anything more.

"Hi, Flack" said Danny, as he took a seat in his chair and put the folder he was carrying in top of the little mountain in his desk. "What do you need?"

Flack took seat in front of Danny. "I don't need anything work related, I'm here to talk to you about us. About our friendship."

"I don't see us like friends anymore, Flack. I though we had something, that we could talk about anything we needed, but it looks like you don't feel like it."

"It's not like that, Danny. What I was going through was… different for me. I didn't even realized what I was into until later. I'd love us to keep being friends, Danny. I never wanted to do anything on your back, nor forget you, I just… I'm really sorry, Danny."

Danny looked at Flack and saw his words were sincere. "You mean a lot to me, Don, and that's something I can't deny." Danny looked down to his hands. He couldn't look at the detective's eyes because right now they were reflecting his own feelings. Maybe they could get to amend things. Maybe he could have a shoulder to cry on, and a friend who could know all his secrets. "Maybe we should go and take a beer someday."

Flack looked at Danny with hope. "I'd love that, Dan. Look, the case is not going anywhere, and our shift finished an hour ago. Do you want to go Sullivan's?" Flack stand up as he waits for the CSI to do the same.

"Maybe another day. I rather go home now, it's been a long day." said Danny as he collected his jacket and wallet and started to go to the door. Flack looked sad, as if he believed Danny told him that to take him away. "What about tomorrow?"

Flack gave him the first real smile in a long time. "We'll hang out tomorrow after sift then. See ya around"

"Bye Flack" And with that both turned separated ways on the hall, expecting the conversation was a beginning for a real conversation about their real status.

Danny kept on thinking about the conversation with Flack all the way to his destination. He really sounded sincere; he really looked like he needed to repair their relationship. Theirs were a complicated one, based mostly in the need of some good things in a world full of double meanings and reasons to kill. He started to walk to his apartment, when he suddenly decided otherwise.

He was remembering some good moments when he reached his destination. He then called at the door with a happy smile in his face. The door opened and Danny stepped inside. The owner of the apartment looked at Danny as he stepped closer to him, embraced him and kissed him with all his passion.

"I didn't expect you to come here, but I'm glad you did it. Want to share with me why you're this happy?"

"I was just feeling today was a bad day and then things started to go better. I just decided to make this day one of the best for me." Danny said as he started kissing the man's face and neck. He then stopped and looked at his face with a wide and sincere smile.

"I made lasagne, do you want some?"

"I'd love to, David."

**Thanks a lot to those who reviewed! Feel free to say if this is good or not :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Last time the office was this quiet a lot of the cops and detectives that used to work here had the flu, colds or whatever other sickness. More than half of the desks were unoccupied, the detectives that usually were there trying to finish a case, looking for new thread to complete an investigation, or simply trying to take a sit after a long day standing, were now anywhere to be seen. Those days were not very busy, a few more weeks and the first rays of spring will shot up the killing spree. Now there were still lots of snow, too cold for anybody bothering to go out to kill.

Flack was still looking for new leads in the case of the young John Doe that lay still in the morgue. Danny had cleared the strange turns he made was not because of ice in the road, there wasn't any when they were there. The idea of a drunk driver hitting that poor kid was taking more strength every moment. It was the fact that anybody had demanded that body what scared Flack the most. Who was that kid? Why his family didn't notice he was missing?

Flack was immersing in his thought when he felt a presence near him. He looked up to see Danny there, a jacked folded in his arm.

"You ready for that beer now?" Danny asked. Flack closed the file in his hand, took his coat and decided to leave this case for tomorrow. He'll go to the schools nearby and will see if anybody knew the kid.

"Let's go"

----

The bar wasn't really full. There hadn't been any problem getting a table where they could be comfortable and talk without being interrupted. Flack seated with his black beer in front of Danny. They had been there for a few minutes and they hadn't said anything yet. Around them, in other tables, laughs and cheers surrounded them, making an uncomfortable void around the two officers.

"So, how are things going with..." Danny fell silent as he smiled and tried to ease the tension "I don't even know her name"

"Lara, her name is Lara. She's a good girl" Flack felt weird talking to Danny about Lara. He told her how he met her, the first date they had and how they become an item without even realising.

"I'd love to meet her some day" said Danny. It was a formal answer. He had no intentions in meeting the women his best friend fell in love with. Maybe she was really a very nice girl with a heart as big as the Yankee's stadium, for him, she'll always be the bitch that stole his best friend and long time crush from his hands.

"We should have a dinner together. I'll tell her and I'll arrange some day." Flack looked at Danny with hope in his eyes; maybe this is what they need. Great, now he'll have to say good things of her in front of that bitch. Don't bother, if she's the one cooking he could always pretend that he had food poisoning, puke in the bathroom and all. That situation could be more 'interesting' for him.

"Yeah, sure" said Danny, and Don looked really relieved. Maybe he was really sorry for all that happened between them.

"So what is going on with your love life, Danno? How many dents did you made in your bed last weeks?"

"I've had a time of… spiritual reconstruction, let's say that. I prefer that description to the other ones."

"It couldn't have been that long. How long time since you went home with someone?"

Danny looked up, as if trying to remember "I thins it's going to make 5 months, two weeks and four days, but who counts it?"

"That long!" Flack tried to suppress a giggle "But... why? I saw all that good looking chicks running after you, and Monroe told the receptionist she, and I'll say it as I heard 'made you hers' on the pool table just before the drug bust and the lab assault. Was that a lie?"

"About Montana, no, that wasn't exactly real. She 'tried' to seduce me, and that scared me to hell and back. And yes, something happened on the pool table, she tried to throw herself on me, and she fell because she was really wasted. Just for you to know; Montana girls and Tequila is not a good combination. Add a pool table and you have a very drunk half naked Montana girl." Danny laughed remembering that pathetic scene "She said I looked hot. The fact that she said that lying on the pool table while she tried to take out her top, stuck in her face, was really priceless" Danny took a sip from his whiskey, turning serious while looking inside the glass "The next day she had an early shift, she was really bad, I felt pity for her, after all, I left her sleeping on the pool table, and changed her shift. You know what happened after that." Danny put the glass on the table and looked at him, smiling again "Now, she says I'm his saviour in shinny armour, and she wants to thank me."

"But she's not your kind of girl" Danny looked at Flack, direct to his eyes. For a moment he felt they were like the old times, but then there was still a secret separating both of them, so Danny decided it was the moment, he really needed to be sincere with him, he had a glimpse of his life without him, and if this secret would break their friendship, better to do it while repairing it that when it was a solid bond again.

"I don't have a dream girl, Don" said Danny, very serious.

"No, Danny, you have a lot of them, but our Montana detective is not your type of girl" said Flack, not realizing the seriousness in Danny's voice.

"Don, that situation has nothing to do with the fact she's a country gal or anything." Danny took a breath "That has everything to do with the fact that she's a girl"

"And now you like them grown up?" Asked Flack, as questioned Danny with his eyes as the CSI looked visibly nervous.

"I don't like girls or women, Don." Danny hided his hands under the table, trying to calm the shake in them, while he looked at his glass "I like men, Don, I'm gay"

Silence invaded the table while outside their corner people kept on talking and laughing about who knows what. Flack assimilated what he had just heard as Danny was still looking at his glass as if it was crucial evidence. "Since when?" Flack breathed and answered again. "Since when do you know you're gay?"

"As long as I can remember" Answered Danny.

"And then what about all the girls you went out with? Cindy?"

"Charlie"

"Maddie"

"Eric"

"Susan"

Danny looked up for the first time since he finally said his secret to Flak. "Hey, Don, don't expect me to remember all the names, ok?" he said as he smiled.

"Why hadn't you told me this before" Asked a very serious Flack.

"I was afraid of your reaction. I didn't want to lose your friendship just because I like hairy chest instead big rounded breast. I've lost a lot of people because of this, Don. I just couldn't afford to put you on that list." Danny took all the whiskey inside his glass in one second. After that he put the glass in the table and looked to Flack eyes. "So tell me, Don, should I stand up, leave this bar and not talk to you in my entire life?"

"I have to admit you kept this secret pretty good, here I was, a big detective thinking you were a ladies man when you really was a men's man." Flack laughed a bit "Ok, that sounded weird. You want to know if you should be afraid of my reaction, no. But I'll call this even with the secrets at all."

Danny looked really happy, in fact, Flack hadn't seen him that happy in a long time.

"Ok, then talking about secrets, I want to tell you I'm starting something with someone. His name is David, he's great" and then Danny told him how he met David, letting out the crying about him. Flack looked at Danny all the time, seeing how he really was relieved he could speak with someone. Danny looked really happy. After he told him his first encounter Danny looked at his watch, asking Flack for another date other day. It was late and they both have to work early tomorrow. After that, they both parted different ways for their own homes.

---

Danny lied in his bed, looking at the familiar ceiling. He was relieved Flack took it that good, maybe it was true and they both could be what they were before. He needed to talk to David too. Maybe this was the way things had to go for them to be really sincere, maybe it was all meant to be, his crush for Flack, him laying to him... Maybe it all took him to this moment, when he can be really think about the possibility of being happy.

---

Flack was sitting in his couch, facing a turned off TV. The fact that Danny was gay wasn't bad, Danny seemed really happy he could talk to him about it. It must have been really hard to keep a secret like that. Flack knew very well what it was to keep things in secret, being afraid of others reactions and what it is to build a wall in your heart to protect you from the pain outside.

Maybe things could have been different if those walls weren't built, if he had been free to have a heart to heart chat with Danny, but now it was too late, because Danny was happy and he was supposed to be too.

** That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed it.**


	7. Chapter 7

He was feeling very sorry for the poor child that he knew rested behind one of those cold metal doors at the morgue.

He had more cases, he had tons of paperwork lying dangerously untouched in his desk, but the only thing that mattered to him right now was find a name or that little body that didn't even see the taxi killing him. He couldn't let him get buried under a random number and a 'John Doe' tag, it wasn't fair.

Flack opened the faucet and hit his face with some water. He felt exhausted, between this case and Danny, he hadn't been able to sleep in all night; he just kept on seeing the face of the kid and Danny proclaiming his love for another man. He assured him things wouldn't change between them, but he had the feeling thins had already changed and would never again be the same.

All day he worked with him, they were side by side, and Flack had the feeling he had never seen the criminalist as happy as today, and the reason, probably, was that man called David. He felt happy for him, he really… tried to be happy for him. He though the rumours that said he was 'riding the cowgirl' were true. He had no reasons to think otherwise, he had dates with her, he was friendly with her, and he was being Danny on chase for another pray. How mistaken he was. He though Lindsay and him were more than just friends, he though so when he asked her for a drink out of work and she said so.

Flack thoughts were broken by a key opening his door. He went out of the bathroom, his face still dripping wet, and found Lara putting some bags on his kitchen counter. Lara turned and ran to him, embracing and kissing the homicide detective, who returned the kiss with passion.

"I missed you, did you missed me?" said Lara, still on his toes and with her arms around his neck.

"Yeah, I did. What's that?" asked Flack as he, still holding her, went to the kitchen to see the supplies in the bags.

"Well, when we talked before you told me you hadn't sleep in a few days, so I bought you the ingredients to my mother's soup. She used to give it to me when I was sick."

"But I'm not sick, just restless"

"I know, but this is the only decent soup that I'm capable to do." She released Flack and started looking into the cupboards, trying to find what she needed to make her soup. "So, what's been keeping you awake? Some bad case?"

"Yeah, a kid killed by a cab a couple days ago. We hadn't been able to ID him. Do you want me to help you?"

"Yes, grab those potatoes and peel them off. Poor kid. Children shouldn't have to deal wit the darkness of this society. I'm sorry you have to do that, Don, I understand you can't sleep with all you have to witness."

"That's not everything. Danny told me yesterday he was gay."

Lara stopped cutting vegetables and turned to look Flack's face. "Your friend Danny? The one you had problems with?"

Flack stopped too and faced Lara. "Yes, that Danny. We, had some misunderstandings and grow apart, and now we're making things right again. Yesterday he told me he was gay and he was afraid to tell me because of my reaction."

"But you don't mind, no? It's your friend, it doesn't matter if he like men or women, it's still Danny."

"I know that, but… I though he was with Lindsay, Lara. I tried to have a drink with her and she told me they were together, and I really believed they were an item until yesterday he told me the truth."

Lara stood silent for a second. "You still have feelings for her?"

"What?"

"Do you still love Lindsay? Look, I know you were getting over somebody when we met. I though you would get over her completely and be with me, and I'm sure it's her the one you were in love before. My question is; do you love her now or not?"

Flack looked at her girlfriend. Obviously it was hard for her, she knew he was getting over someone, and she just waited for him to be with her. She had done a lot for him, she was some fresh air in his life.

"I can guarantee you I don't love Lindsay. She showed me she was manipulative and she's just worried about herself. I don't need her" Flack steeped closer to her and hugged her.

"I have someone much better in my arms."

**Teehee... I'm bad, I know. Reviews are appreciated.**


	8. Chapter 8

It's still unbelievable how innocence can be corrupted by death. Another day will end and they still hadn't found the kid's family. He didn't look like a street kid; he should have a family somewhere, but then, why they hadn't looked for him?

His priority turned in this case, he had to look for the killer, for that tax driver who severed the kid's life, but right now he wanted he needed to give him an identity, his identity. Of course, he had followed the procedure and made all the car shops and garages to call him in case some taxi with any damage that was similar to that damage appear there, but it was improbable it would happen. Big pay checks would shout a lot of mouths.

He centred his investigations in the kid. He had been looking for an identity for the last five days, as the other detectives were saying, he was starting to obsess with this case. But they don't understand, anybody can understand what it is to see a child lying lifeless on the autopsy table after a coroner opened him and took out his organs.

There were five schools on the area where the unidentified kid was killed; he looked for his identity there. He even sent faxes to the others schools in a bigger area, maybe that way he can find his family. None of them answered back. He even alerted the tri-state in case some kid with that description is missing, but anything.

The strident ring from his cell phone wakes him up from his thoughts.

"Flack"

"Detective? Listen, I have the man you're looking for. He offered us a lot of money, but you told me he killed a kid. We never get the money, but he killed a kid, you told us…"

Reality stroked Flack as he rose from his chair "The taxi? You have the taxi? Where do you call from?"

"I'm from the Peace South Garage, the owner is still here. Gotta hang up, I'll keep him here until you come"

"Give me 10 minutes and I'll be there. Thank you" He closed his phone and took his coat as he made another call.

"Messer"

"Danny, we have the taxi that killed the kid. Take al you need and meet me at my car."

"Ok"

------

As Flack and Danny got into the garage they could see a taxi cab in the entrance. There were some damages made at the front, and Danny started to take samples from there. Flack decided to get inside the offices, he knew he should be with Danny, take care of him, but he needed to see who could make something like that to the kid and not bother to stop and see if he was still alive. Flack looked where Danny stood and found him kneeled in the floor and encouraging him to into the office. Flack turned and went into the dark garage. Lights were on, but obviously, those little bulbs weren't enough to kill all the darkness inside. From where he stood he could see a lighted room by the end, so he started walking to there.

Through the crystal door he recognised the owner of the establishment as the man that was filling some papers, the man that was sitting with the back to the door must be the taxi owner. He hesitated a second and opened the door. The man that was writing before stopped as he came inside and as fast as he could went out of the room closing the door behind him. The man in the other side of the desk turned to see what made the man run.

"Who are you?" asked the man as Flack rest his back in the door, blocking the only way out from the little room.

"I'm Detective Flack. NYPD"

The man looked at his badge and gun and paled. "Why are you here?"

"I think you know why I'm here." Just then someone made a call to the door in his back. Knowing it was Danny, Flack opened it and let him come in without taking his eyes off the man in the chair.

"The car showed impressions and marks that matches the injuries caused in the kid. There was also a red trail that was made a positive for human blood. There are officers in the door guarding the car until we can make the transportation to the crime lab." Danny concluded.

"Give me your ID. You're under arrest for murdering a little kid" Flack took off his cuffs and approached the man as he rose and went to the back of the room.

"No, you don't understand, he put himself in front of the car. I didn't want to kill him, I didn't even knew he followed me." The man started to cry and sob "I just needed some time alone, since her mother died he was always demanding something, food, attention, care… and I couldn't take it anymore! I wanted to be alone, and he must have entered in the car, somehow I just can't understand." The cries were stronger and the detectives were having a bad time trying to understand him "I was drinking, and then I saw him, with her mother's eyes looking at me, and I told him I didn't love him anymore, and he run, and I tried to get him, but I was so drunk that he… I didn't wanted to kill him… it was an accident… I loved my son, I really did." The last part was said almost in a whisper.

Flack couldn't believe it. The man admitted the kid he killed was his own son, and here he was, trying to fix his car so he could keep on doing his life as if it hadn't happened anything at all. Flack approached the crying man and cuffed him and took him to his car. Danny was beside him when he started the engine.

Any of them said a word in all the way back to the precinct.

------

Flack stood at his desk as he did at the beginning of the night, looking at the files, having just filled the camp of the victim's name. Poor Edward was just eleven years old when his own father took his innocence and his life away with just a turn of his wheel.

Danny entered the room, he can always say when he comes into the same room he's in. He approaches his desk and sits in the seat in front of his.

"Are you alright?" Asked Danny.

"I don't know. Are you?"

"No"

"Me neither"

"Are you finished? Let's go have a drink" Then Danny stood up from his seat, waiting for Flack to do the same.

Flack looked at him and stood up "I really need a drink right now." And then both leave the office and the precinct.

For this occasion both of them decided not to go to Sullivan's, it would be too crowded with cops and probably they would be commenting the last big case, the father that killed his son with his own taxi cab. Instead they chose a very calm bar close to Flack's home. They used to get here when they needed to get wasted without friends or known people looking at them.

They made a pact, not to talk about the case, but before they made a toast in his honour, that was the only thing they could do, after arresting his father and murder, that's for sure. They almost made conversations at all, they just kept on drinking seated at the bar's counter.

When they had a few drinks on ad the world seemed to be blur, Flack decided to break the rule before he exploded. "I never could have though he did that, you know." Danny stared at him "He was one of those people who looks like they never break a… how is that said? A glass something"

Danny snorted at him and answered "a mirror, Don, never broke a mirror"

Flack looked at Danny and smiled "I'm drunker than you are" he took another sip and continued "I just wish bad people would have faces like that, like bad people, so you look at them and say 'uh, bad people, you're going to jail' and arrest him"

"The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and, uh, we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after." Said Danny, taking a big drink out of his beer.

Flack stare at Danny with big eyes until Danny looked at him "What? Do I have something in my face?" Danny tried to touch his face, to see if he has some stain, but ended putting his fingers in his glasses, getting them dirty and blurry. He decided the world was enough blurry by the beer, so he took the glasses off and put them in his jacket pocket. After a few tries, he got them inside and looked back at Flack, who was grinning like an idiot just in front of him. "What?"

"You're quoting fluffy"

"What? Fluffy? What are you talking about?"

"Fluffy, you know, the cheerleader that turned into a freak girl that killed vampires."

"Buffy?"

"Yeah, that's what I said, Fluffy You're a freak."

"And how do you knew that was from Buffy?"

"The Gellar girl looked good kicking bad guys"

"Yeah, she looked cute, but I preferred Angel. Boreanaz looks really good dressed in black. But that don't make me a freak."

"Watching it don't make you a freak, quoting it is the clue, Danno" Danny looked at his friend as he took what was left on his glass. They hadn't been as comfortable as today for a long time.

"I'm wasted" Flack said as he took his coat. "I'm going home"

"Me too. Going home too"

"You can come with me. Like old times"

Danny thought about it for a moment. He had took off his glasses and find his home will be like living in a joke. "Ok. Let's go" And the Flack stod up and hanged onto Danny. Obviously Flack was more drunk than him.

"One condition, Danno. Don't quote Fluffy" And then, both of them went out the bar.

------

As they made it inside Flack's apartment Flack went straight to the kitchen and then back to the living room with a cold six pack in his hands. He opened one and motioned Danny to do so. As they put the foot up the tea table in front of the coach, Flack started taking again.

"I can't forget him, Dan, every time I close my eyes I see him, lying on the autopsy table with his chest opened. And find his father killed him was too much."

"And the father, his eyes, they were blank. He killed his own son, and then he just tried to make a normal life" Danny added.

"Someone like him deserves to be loved, deserves to be cared of."

"No, Don, everybody deserves to be loved."

Flack stared to Danny looking at the beer in his hands, and suddenly their eyes collided. Suddenly, the space separating them became zero and their lips melted in a sweet kiss that ended before it started. Danny looked at Flack's eyes, and then he closed the space between them in another kiss. Danny kept on giving Flack little butterfly kisses around his mouth until he felt Flack relax and get into the kiss. Flack moaned and Danny took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, battling his tongue against Flack's, who then took a hold of Danny and put him on his lap. Danny started to rock his pelvis against Flack and guided his hands to his head, holding him to deepen more the kiss. Flack hands were stroking his back, until he decided he needed more skin and took off Danny's jacket. Danny stopped kissing him to get rid of his wife beater and then he felt Flack's mouth on his chest, leaving bites and kisses as he took his ass in his hands and forced him to ground his pelvis harder against his. Both moaned as their rock hard cocks get enclosed between them and all the layers of clothes. Danny skunked his head in Flack's shoulder and bite hard, enough to leave marc.

Both kept on rocking and moving until that wasn't enough, moment Flack used to suggest moving to the bedroom. The way was short, but they made it enough long to take off the remains of their clothing. When they came next to the bed Danny was the first to sit down on it. Flack stood there, looking at the sight of his best friend naked and in all his splendour just in front of him. Danny offered him his hand, an invitation to join him in the bed, Flack too it as both of hem reckoned back into the bed to get more comfortable, Flack on top of him, Danny straddling him with his legs.

"I've never done it with a man" admitted Flack, whose head was buried in Danny's neck, leaving little kisses and small bites "Show me, Dan, show me how to make you come" The words sent shivers through his spine, and only those words almost were enough to make him come. Danny then took Flack's left hand, bought it to his mouth and sucked three of his fingers while flack kept on his ministrations, now in his face. As soon as he took off his fingers from his mouth, Flack invaded it with his tongue, making him feel how he never though he could only with kisses. Then he directed Flack's hand to his ass, and proceeded to stick one of his fingers in his entrance. Flack hesitated, but Danny's reassurance made him continue. He added another finger as soon as he was screeched enough to do so, and then left Flack to do as he felt to. Flack added another finger, never breaking the kiss, and soon found Danny's prostate, something unexpected for Danny, who scratched Flack's back when the pleasure filled him.

Danny took off Flack's fingers from him, and turned them both so he could be on top. Flack stared at him once they broke the kiss, and hissed on surprise when Danny took his hard shaft on his hand, positioned his entrance by Flack's cock and then let himself down bit by bit, adjusting to the size of Flack's. Both of them moaned when Danny's checks touched Flack's pelvis. He started to back up and down slowly, trying to retard the inevitable, until Flack turned them both again and took control of the situation. Flack invaded Danny's mouth as the same rhythm he was making it on his ass, as he kept on caressing his face, making Danny felt loved.

Danny was starting to see fireworks in the back of his eyes at the same time Flack's trust were becoming more erratic and profound. Flack let go from his mouth and started talking by his ear "Let me see how I make you feel, let me see you how I make you come, c'mon Danny, come with me"

Danny felt those words pushing hi the last step to the precipice, making him fall faster and harder than he never had. As he was starting to come back from that fall, he felt Flack come inside of him. Flack kept like that for a moment, and then pushed out of him, took the covers, covered them both and then lied beside him. With the last strength he had, pushed Danny against him for a searing kiss, ad then, both of them fell asleep with their foreheads touching.

**Non-english here, sorry if this is confusing.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry it took me so long to update, work has been pretty demanding lately. **

The light was coming into the room through the opened curtains beside the bed, filling the room with a soft glow and warmth.

Danny started to awaken, used to be up early to work, remembering today he had the day off, he got more comfy on the bed and got ready to sleep some more, until he realized his bed was moving.

He opened his eyes wide, trying to remember something from the last before and his memories began to go back to him in the form of Don Flack naked and moaning on top of him. The remains of their love making were still present on him, as he could feel his own come dried in his low belly and the ache in his ass. But also he felt a warmth in his heart as he could see he had made one of his dreams come true, he had been with Flack, and even if a kiss was more than he never could have wish, reality came to him as one of the most intense and lovely night, even with all the alcohol both of them ingested.

Danny's hand stroked softly Flack's hand and, in the middle of his sleep, Flack griped it in a way Danny believed to be lovely.

He had never felt the sensations he was feeling now, he felt, for the first time in his life, complete. He had been with a lot of men in the post, but never felt like this, loved, cared… complete. When they both worked together there was this connection, they both knew what the other was thinking without having to say anything, and that was what attracted him in the beginning. After that, Flack has been for him every single time he needed a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, or a friend to hear him, and he was happy the moment he felt he had fallen miserably in love with his best friend.

He though he didn't had any possibilities to be with him, he was a straight man, a legend between the cops, and he was just a bad boy trying to pass as a cop hidden between evidences and labs. He though Flack could never be his, until now.

Maybe the alcohol was a determination factor for the beginning of their love making, but there was something in the way he looked, in the way he speak, that made him believe there was something, some feeling involved in all the passion they both were involved last night.

It was the first time with a man for Flack, but he didn't felt the regret in the moves, that he was a substitute for a pussy, he felt he was what he really was needing in that moment. He didn't tried to make him leave after they ended neither, instead, he hugged him after he felt asleep, still reassuring some flesh contact between them.

This was his most desired dream come true.

Danny stared at Flack, and even without his glasses, he could see a very peaceful face illuminated by the first rays of dawn. He thought this was one of the most poetic moments in his life. He wanted to take this moment and freeze it on time, so he could always come back when he needed a nice and true smile in his face.

Danny untangled his hand from Flack's as silent and slow as he could. He needed to go to the bathroom so bad, but he didn't want to awake him. As he got up, the alcohol ingested the last night came back to him in the form of dizziness and headache. The cold air outside the bed made him shiver, and he needed to go back to Flack again, so he just directed himself to the bathroom, trying not to hit anything on his way there.

As he was in the middle of the way he heard Flack move, probably changing position under the cover to adjust to the place he left, so he entered silently and closed the door as quiet as possible.

When he returned to the room, not even three minutes after he left it, Danny saw Flack had moved in bed and now was lying on his left side, legs up to his torso and wrapped in the blankets. Obviously he felt the absence of Danny's warmth and tried to recover it. As Danny got close to the bed Flack stirred and started to wake up, holding the pillow under him and hugging it as he inhaled sharply and opened his eyes still blind with the dim light in the bedroom. Danny couldn't help himself as he got closer to the bed and kneeled so his face would be at the same high as Flack's. As Flack opened his eyes more firmly, Danny couldn't stop the smile in his face, surely Flack looked cute in this moment.

"Good morning Donnie. Did you sleep well?" Danny got his hand close to the detective face, caressing his side, as Flack stared at him with his eyes wide open. Danny stopped as soon as he notices his face.

"Oh, no. NononononoNO!" Flack hit Danny's hand to stop touching him as he reckoned in the bed, trying to cover himself with the covers. "Tell me all was a bad dream and you and I didn't do anything last night." Flack stared ahead him, to the nothing, as Danny started to feel sick inside.

"I wasn't a dream, Flack. You and I…"

"Did nothing" Flack stared at him with determination in his eyes "Nothing happened yesterday, it was a mistake we're not going to repeat never. We had a moment and that was all, no need to make a drama, no need to talk about it."

"So you say we simply forget it all, the fact that you started it, that you wanted it, doesn't really matter, no? For you I was just an entertainment, no?" Danny stood up, starting to dress himself with the clothes he found.

"I didn't need this, Danny, not right now. You don't realise what you did, but this will ruin my life forever." Said Flack while looked him with a soft face that only made Danny angrier by seconds.

"So it was me, no? I'm the one who made you do this, I am the bad evil gay man that wanted you and just because you're straight had to make you get drunk to lie to you and make you mine. No?" Danny needed to get out of there, get out of him before he broke down, so he left for the living room.

"Danny, I didn't meant that, it's just… Danny don't leave like this, we need to discuss this." Flack took Danny's arm and he shrugged until he was free again.

"We don't need to discuss anything here. You don't need this, I don't need this. You want to make as if anything of this happened, ok. Don't worry about me anymore; I'll avoid you as much as you did before." Danny turned to the door and as he was going out he could hear Flack asking for him. Danny just closed his eyes as he said in a broken voice "Goodbye forever. Don't call me, don't speak to me anymore. Hope you can enjoy your life."

As Danny closed the door Flack fell to his knees in the middle of the living room. He had lost his best friend, he had lost the only one he felt enough confident to trust his problems. He had lost Danny forever.

And as the melody he had assigned to Lara started to sing from the phone in his bedroom, Flack let go the first of many tears he would cry that morning.

---

Danny got into his apartment not even more than half an hour after he left Flack's. The street was cold in contrast to the poor clothes he was on, no time to look for all his things before leaving. As he entered his kitchen he saw a picture from him and Flack, took in last Christmas. Both were smiling and happy, no idea what the future had ready for them. Danny took the frame and throw it against the far wall. The sound of glass shattering made him felt alive. He took a vase from the bookcase and made it join the picture in the floor. It wasn't like before. He tried to get a hold of himself, he wasn't going to cry, he wasn't going to cry…

He would never feel what he felt being with Flack, complete and happy. He would never look a shift in the board looking for Flack name in the same time he was on. He would never smile him as he said some snaky commentary. He would never smile to him. He would never feel his hands in him, he would never feel his lips caressing his skin in delight.

He would never feel loved again.

And, suddenly, Danny let a tear run through his pained face, because cry in agony is the only thing you can do when you feel your soul is shattered in more pieces than a framed picture of a moment of happiness.

**Love it? Hate it? Want me to update sooner? Feel free to review :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Sobs escaped from Danny's lips, breaking the silence that invaded his little living room. A few hours ago, he came in a rush, needing to build his fortress back as Flack broke them all in a night to conquer and burn everything on his way on. Now he was still in the same position he assumed after he collapsed seconds after entering his home. Time was counting by his breaths, and now those were cut by hiccups caused by all the crying he made.

At this moment, the air seemed rare, dirty by all his desperate breaths, and Danny felt as if he couldn't breathe anymore. His heart was beating strongly in his chest, making his sound the only thing audible.

His vision was blurry, and all the tears he let escape from his eyes maybe were the reason for that, but right now, nothing matters anymore. His world broke that day, and all he could do right now was to let it go, because he knew anything would go back to normal after this. He had a glimpse of what happiness may be, but all was now evaporated, leaving nothing but a sweet memory followed by his worst nightmare.

A knock in his door made him go out of his bubble, maybe it was Flack, who came to say everything was alright, that he was still his friend and he was sorry for all that happened. He got up from the floor and resisted the urge to run to the door. Maybe it was Flack, maybe it could be Flack. As he opened the door he had to close his eyes to block them from the light outside.

"Danny, is something wrong? Are you ok?" This wasn't Flack voice, and suddenly Danny felt even worst than he felt before.

"David, I… I'm sorry, David" he said as his words got stuck in his mouth. He really couldn't say anything else, he hadn't though about him, nor today nor yesterday with Flack, and this wasn't unfair for David.

"Can I come in?" Danny stepped away from the door, and David came inside closing the door after him. "What happened, Dan?"

Danny started crying again, he didn't wanted to cry, he didn't had the right to do so after he realised what he did to him, what he did to both of them. "I'm sorry, David, I don't deserve you, I though I was getting over him, but… I'm sorry David, I'm really sorry"

"I don't understand, Dan, you need to be more concrete. Dan, what's happening here?" David took a look around and saw what was left of the framed picture and the vase. He looked at Danny and took him by his arm, directing him to the couch, where them booth seated.

"I'm sorry David"

"I need you to tell me what's happening, Dan." He took Danny's chin and directed his face to him "Look at me, Dan, what's wrong?"

"I slept with Flack, David, I'm sorry I did this to you. You are so good to me, and now I do something like this to you, and I didn't even think about you until you came here" Danny was crying more now, making his words difficult to understand. "I don't deserve you, I'd understand if you leave and don't want to know anything more from me anymore, I'm an asshole who ruins the best relationship I've had in a long time"

"You're not like this because you made this to me, Danny, there is something more"

"And what does that matter? I'm worse than a dirty scum bag. You do deserve something more, I don't have the right to be happy" David stood up and left the couch as Danny started crying more. A few moments later David came back to a sobbing and shaking Danny.

"Take this" David offered him a cup filled with a warm liquid as he took the place he was in before.

"What's this?" he asked as he took the cup, burning his cold hands.

"Lime blossom tea. It will make you relax a bit. You need to cam down or you're going to have a heart attack."

"Why are you being so nice with me after what I've done to you?" Danny asked as he started drinking it. It fell to his empty stomach and then he noticed he hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday.

"I knew you were going to left me. From the first time, when we met in that dirty bar, I knew you were going to left me, and I knew it would be because of him."

"And then, why did you stay, and why are you staying now?"

"I cherish every moment we spent together, don't get me wrong. I saw then you were a interesting man, one of those persons who are able to have a conversation, who take care of you in the worst moments and I really wanted to know how it was having someone like that in my life. And I'm staying now because I know what it is to be heartbroken because a wrong decision and I don't want you to know that." David stroke Danny's air as he took another sip of the tea. "And don't worry about me, I really knew this wasn't going to last, you're too good to be with me"

"No, I'm a bad person, I did this to you, and also to him. He really didn't want me, I forced him, and now I've lost everything." Danny's tears resurged in his eyes, even if the tea really did relax him.

"You forced him? How? Did you use your gun? Did you?"

"No, we were drunk, and I took that opportunity" Danny stared the cup in his hands, that now weren't shaking.

"I've seen pictures from this man, and I really can't see him being forced by someone like you. How did it happen?"

Danny stared at David "You really want to know?"

David took a breath and nodded. "Right now, I'm not your boyfriend anymore. I'm just your friend. You've told me a lot of things before, things about him, so it is like I know you both. Don't worry about my feelings, I tell you I had the idea this was going to happen sooner or later, even if a part of me wanted you to stay with me. But I knew you were in love with him, and those feeling can't be changed easily. I want to help you, but you need to trust me."

"It was a very difficult case, and a very hard one, so when we solved it we agreed to go have a few drinks." Danny drank all the remains of his tea in a sip. Even if he was feeling this was going to hurt him, he really needed to talk with someone. "We got drunk, and he offered to crash at his home. Once there, we talked and then, we started kissing, one thing lead another and I woke up on his bed. When he woke up, he freaked out, he told me it was my fault, he didn't need that. I fled here and then you came."

"Did you start it?"

"I think we both started it, I'm not sure, I was drunk"

"From where I stand, I can tell you people drunk may do thinks sober wouldn't. You wanted it, there is no way you can deny it, but maybe, somehow, he did wanted it too"

"You should have seen his face ht morning after. That wasn't the loving stare of someone who did want to have sex with his best friend."

"Sometimes people have to get used to their own desires because they're not what other may expect for them. With this I'm not telling you he's as in love as you are, just that maybe he had the desire to know what it feels like, and knowing you can show him, adding a few beers, you have a moment of happiness, only, sometimes, that happiness is something you don't expect, something you though forgiven, something you can't really admit yourself the fact that you achieved it." David stroked Danny's back as he speak, trying to ease him.

"And what can I do?"

"There is nothing you can do, just wait and see his reaction. It doesn't matter all I can tell you to help you get better, in the end, the only thing that matters is what he's going to do."

Danny tried to ease the knot he had in his throat, it was difficult to breathe, it was difficult to live with this, but he really had to make this question "And what will I do if he don't want to be with me? What if he… don't want to be near me anymore?"

"I know this will be difficult, but you'll have to let him go. You can't force anyone to be with you, and if you could, you would never be happy. I know it would be painful, but there is nothing you can do." The remains of hope Danny had fell to the floor, as his body felt numb for seconds. He really never contemplated a life without Flack, and wasn't sure he could really make it possible. He was used to have him around whenever he needed, he was used to call him whenever he felt alone, in danger, or simply sad. He didn't knew what would had he done if any of those times he hadn't called him, if there wasn't the possibility of Flack beside him, and that scared him more than the loneliness he felt in his heart all this time.

"You need to rest. Take a shower, I'll make you something to eat and then you should go take some sleep." David stood up, offering his hand to help him up. Danny looked at him, took his hand and, when he was up, took David in his arms.

"I can't say how sorry I am I ruined this. You're great, and, if things would have been different, I'd love to fall in love with you" said Danny. David held him and hugged him, trying to reassure him everything would be alright someday, even if he had no idea if that could be true.

"It would be great to take those decisions, but we're not allowed. To tell you the truth, I never though I could fall in love with you. You're great, but not my kind of great. And I think we're better as friends. I met you in a bad moment, and, to tell you the truth, I was not in my best moment neither. " Danny reached back to look at him. David smiled him and Danny tried to smile. "Go and take a shower. I'll make you a soup." After he said that, David released him and turned around. Danny looked at him, sighed, and directed himself to the bathroom.

---

Danny was unable to look himself at the mirror. _Dirty_ was a concept he used for himself before, and that's how he really felt. If he could erase the last 24 hours he would do it, no doubt about it. Maybe the sex was one of the best he ever had, but the consequences are too hard to deal, and every second he spent thinking about it, more he wanted to disappear forever and never came back.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he could see the marks of their lovemaking. A hand print was visible in his right hip, and his neck showed at least three bites. Right now, those marks were painful to see, knowing Flack was regretting the night they spent together.

David was right, he should make a decision so he could live with his rejection, because after this morning there weren't many possibilities the result would be good.

And as the faucet dripped in the shower, he thought how much he would miss New York.

**Thanks for spending some of your time reading this. If youlked or have anything to say, it would be welcome :) **


	11. Chapter 11

_Before letting you go on with the story, I'd lke to say sorry because it took me two months to update. Life has been pretty demanding lately, and after spending all day writing, I didn't really was inthe mood to go home and keep on writing. I promise I'll try to update sooner this time, maybe next week. And now, enjoy this chapter._

Flack never expected to survive that night. He swore he was a different person, a different man, someone really worth to be with; but now he wasn't sure it's even worth to try.

His phone is ringing again, the fourth time this morning, and it's only eight am. He's nervous, he wants it to be Danny, he needs it to be Danny. But it isn't him. As he gets closer to the kitchen, ignoring the dumb sound coming from the device in his living room, he noticed a beer bottle lying in the floor. As he takes it, he feels anger arise in him. Why did he treat Danny like that? Wasn't enough for them all that happened as they both were intoxicated and emotionally down? What could have happened if they hadn't had that much drink?

As he gripped his beer he heard a soft call on the door. Flack threw the beer into the trashcan and obliged himself to open the door. Lara was standing there, looking at him with those innocent eyes. He couldn't make this, he needed more time before he could do anything, before he could have a conversation, a really hard conversation with her.

"I've been trying to talk to you since this morning, Don. I wanted to give you some space, after all you hadn't answered any of my calls, but I really _really_ needed talk to you." Lara stopped talking and breathed deeply "May I come in? I wanted to ask you, that's why I didn't open with my key; I wanted to ask you in case you needed some time alone."

"Look, Lara, I'm having a very bad day, could this wait?" Asked Flack, still standing on the doorframe blocking the entrance to his apartment.

"If this could wait I wouldn't have come all this way after calling you at least ten times."

Flack looked at her and stood away from the door, getting into the living room and leaving her to get inside after him. Lara came inside and closed the door after her, looking at Flack all time. It was obvious he didn't want to talk about anything.

Flack faced her from the other side of the room "What do you need?"

"I've had a problem, and I was thinking maybe you could help me."

"What happened?" Flack folded his arms in front of his chest.

"My apartment got burned yesterday night. Well, exactly not my apartment, it was the one upstairs mine, but the firemen didn't allow me to go into mine. They say it might be damaged and all, so now I'm outside my home and they don't know how long it will be."

"Are you alright, I mean, you're not injured, no?" Flack asked concerned.

"No, I was just very scared; there was smoke everywhere and people screaming… It was very hard" Lara tried to talk without crying, but the emotions were too much for her to stay calmed.

Flack got closer to her and held her in a hug.

"I knew you were having a bad time and all, so I don't wanted to burden you; but I don't have friends here, I needed someone to talk to, and to help me look for somewhere to stay until they decide what to do with my home" said Lara, as she held Flack even closer.

"You can stay here as long as you need" said Flack.

"No. I know you need some space, and also there is the fact we're trying to take things slow. This would be a very big step, and I don't want to force you into an anything." Lara said, unfolding herself from Flack's arms.

"You're not forcing me into nothing. You need someplace to stay, I'm offering you one. Don't worry about anything else."

"Are you sure?"

"Completely."

Lara smiled and embraced Flack again after kissing him fully in his lips. "You have no idea how much I needed you in a moment like this. I love you, Don."

Flack held her as he looked past her. After this, he really couldn't have any conversation with her and break his heart in a moment she's really fragile. He really couldn't tell her he had drunk sex with his best friend, and he wasn't really sure how it all started and if it had been any different if he hadn't been drunk.


End file.
